Freelance Writing Jobs Online: Over 100 Places to Find Writing Work in 2018

There are lots of good writers out there who struggle getting any traction because they don’t know where to get started.

Unless a job happens to fall in their lap, they don’t know where to look for freelance writing jobs.

Well, we’ve got you covered.

In this post, we want to keep it simple. This is a list of sites you can use, right now, to find freelance writing jobs online.

So, if you’ve been struggling with where to find potential writing gigs, save this post.

Where to Find Writing Jobs Online

We’ve broken these into sections. You’ll find job boards, paid sites, social media, and paid guest posts to help you get started.

This list is going to be a living breathing thing, so keep checking back in as we update it and keep adding more sites as we find them.

Also, we’re huge proponents of B2B writing as one of the best ways to get going with freelancing. So if before you start sending out all of your pitches check out our incredibly B2B writing work.detailed guide on getting

Job Boards

You might hear people poo-pooing job boards. A lot of it is about due diligence. But there are some actual quality boards out there that tend to post good gigs more often than not, so that’s what this list is for.

I’ve personally gotten some very good long-term clients off some of these sites. So they can work for you too.

nDash – This site has a database of companies who are looking for writers, you pitch your ideas and go from there.

LinkedIn Profinder (Currently US only) – I’ve been able to nab a few high paying quality clients off Profinder. LinkedIn is a great resource that most freelancers are ignoring. Don’t make that mistake, create a LinkedIn profile ASAP.

LinkedIn Jobs – Don’t forget there’s a job feature to LinkedIn, most are full-time, and some are remote. But that doesn’t mean you can’t pitch yourself either.

Contently – Start by creating a free portfolio and add to it. Because if you get a good profile rolling, they might contact you for work, and the jobs are typically high quality (and pay well).

Skyword – This is another site where you can jump in and start creating a portfolio. They work on matching high quality writers with big time gigs from Fortune 1000 brands.

Creative Circle – You might think staffing brands can’t help you find creative or writing jobs, not true with Creative Circle. I’ve found their copywriting and social media postings especially relevant for freelancers.

All Freelance Writing – Another smaller list of jobs but it’s nice you can see the pay range of each right from the jump.

Glassdoor – There is a really good mix of big name brads and niche writing opportunities (like non-profit work) on Glassdoor, so it can’t hurt to set up a profile here. And you can search with remote as a location.

HubStaff – HubStaff is relatively new. The brands are listed and then you submit your pitches, there is no bidding, and you set your rates.

Pangian – This site has more focus on remote full time jobs as well as travel related jobs. It doesn’t update as frequently as the other boards but I’ve also seen gigs here I haven’t spotted elsewhere.

Freelance Writing – This site has two options for you to find more work. One is their job board that focuses mostly on blogging, copywriting, and journalism gigs and the other is their daily morning newsletter.

Brian Scott’s Online Writing Jobs – This site has a ton of gigs lined up that is curated by Brian Scott. In addition, he’s also is active on Twitter (see below) and offers a daily newsletter as well.

Writing Career – If you’re looking for more work for your creative side with poetry and fiction writing, check out this sister site to Brian’s writing jobs site.

Journalism Jobs – You don’t have to be a journalist to apply for jobs on this site. And, if you are a journalist looking for freelance work, jump in here you’ll find plenty of opportunities.

Media Bistro – While it’s not just for freelancers, the Media Bistro site does offer a search feature for remote work. Or hey, you might find some awesome full time gig writing for a dream brand.

Genuine Jobs – This is another site that focuses solely on remote work. There are all sorts of roles here both part time as well as full time in their database but you’ll have to do a bit of digging.

Krop – If you’re looking for copywriting jobs, check this site out. It’s got a mix of full time, freelance, and flexible arrangement (i.e. 2 days in the office and 3 days out) copy jobs.

Writer’s Weekly – This is a good site for people who are looking to get published in magazines or trade articles, it has a nice listing of markets that are paying as well as a freelance work listing.

Ed2010 – I love it when sites have an option to search for freelance and remote work and this site delivers. You will have to create an account to see the listings. They are mostly in and around the magazine industry.

Writing Gigs – This Reddit sub features just a listing of writing jobs. You’ll have to pick through them to find gigs that suit what you’re looking for but it’s updated multiple times a week. You can check out the Freelance Writers sub too, that sporadically lists jobs.

Work From Home Leads – You won’t find just writing jobs online here, but a whole list pulled from a bunch of different sites. It’s updated weekly, so it can’t hurt to pop in here and see what’s available.

Working Nomads – This board was created by digital nomads for fellow digital nomads. It doesn’t get updated as frequently as the other boards but you’ll know every opportunity is remote.

Angel List – If you want to dip your feet into the startup world, check out Angle List. There is a solid listing of writing roles that lean heavily on remote work for both part time and full time gigs.

ZipRecruiter – It’s a standard job board, but unlike a lot of others I’ve seen you can search for remote work really easily, right now there are over 30,000 remote writing jobs on the site for you to dig through.

NewsCred – This is another site that hires freelance writers to add to their stable for big client work projects. Scroll to the bottom of the page and click the Content Studio Application to fill out the form.

Dynamite Jobs – The folks over at the Dynamite Circle have created their own job board for all sorts of jobs in various industries and positions. It’s not for writers specifically but there are writer jobs on there.

Paid Sites

There are a few very good job boards out there that are protected behind a paywall. Some of these are strictly job boards while others are more like membership sites for writers that have job board perks.

Typically, these will spend much more time curating high-quality posts, so you won’t find a lot of bad jobs on here.

A note of caution here, do your due diligence before paying for any job boards (a simple Google of the name can provide a wealth of information). A lot of them will not put you much further ahead than many of the free sites while wanting you to pay high monthly fees.

The sites below are those that I know feature good jobs.

Freelance Writer’s Den – Carol Tice of Make a Living Writing runs this job board so you know it only has high-quality posts.

Freelance Success – The forum is the big feature here, but being a member includes a newsletter that features quality listings.

Contenta – This site isn’t always open to join, and has one of the highest fees out there, but also has a lot of hand curated jobs in a variety of fields that you won’t find anywhere else.

FlexJobs – You can search for free on FlexJobs but to get access to the good stuff, the paid feature provides a lot more information.

Paid to Blog – Blogger Tom Ewer has created a paid site where you can find curated quality writing jobs as well as paid guest posts.

Social Media

Don’t forget about social media! I keep track of a number of accounts on Twitter because you never know where something that’s perfect could pop up!

I also follow lots of influencers in my field too. They will also often share job postings from their sites or friend’s sites on their social media accounts.

Lastly, don’t forget to do searches all over social media try searching: “we’re hiring,” “work with us,” “writing job,” or “job posted” to start.

Also, don’t forget there is always the potential to offer your services inside any Facebook groups you join. Remember, don’t spam, become a part of the community, offer value, and then showcase your skills.

Follow the tips Olivia lays out for making the most of Facebook groups, in this post.

Sites that Pay for Guest Posts or Have Paid Contributors

You can also get your feet wet doing guest posts. These are not only great to build up your brand, but some sites actually pay for posts too.

Now, you’re not going to get rich pitching these sites, but you might catch a good break down the road. The key with these is to read the instructions. It’s all there.

Unfortunately, way too many people ignore the directions and plow forward. Don’t be one of these people. If something particular is put in the directions, seems like it’s important to pay attention to, no?

Read these pages a few times and then craft your pitch. Getting an accepted post on any of these sites can be a nice boost to your freelancing career.

For the sites below, most have their pay rates right on the page. Others will offer payment for really high-quality stuff.

600 Startups Hiring Remotely – This is a huge database from Remotive of startups that are hiring but it doesn’t list what they may be hiring for so you’ll have to do some digging (and pitching) on your end.

Aerogramme Writer’s Studio – You’ll a lot of information here on writer’s in residence programs, fiction and non-fiction contests, short story submissions and the like.

Writer’s Market – This is a book that comes out every year and features a huge listing of magazine and trade publications that accept writers. It also has great advice on how to write good pitches.

Location Rebel Academy – Sure, we’ll pitch ourselves. We’ve got a member’s only job board and we do post up remote gigs we see floating around online.

Whew, that’s a long list. But, keep in mind, these aren’t the only writing jobs available out there so don’t just rely on these. Keep your own search going and, at the same time, schedule time in your week to search and pitch.

A Few More Ways to Land Freelance Writing Jobs

Yes, you can scour the web for writing jobs but that isn’t the only thing you can do to improve your chances of finding freelance writing clients.

Things like making sure you have a solid (and professional) blog on your website, researching the person you’re trying to reach, and even having a bit of personality are important factors. And honestly, way too often, no one even thinks about them.

If you want to set yourself up for the best possible chance to land some of these writing jobs, then you’ve got to check out the video below. Or you can read the accompanying post, how to get more freelance writing clients:

Don’t Forget the Pitch! Here’s Some Advice

Oh yea, that. The cold pitch.

All in all, when you mine for online writing jobs always consider reaching out directly, you have the potential for a higher quality client, especially if you can try to get on their radar and build a relationship over time.

If you’ve been thinking about getting into business to business (B2B) writing, then get friendly with the cold pitch.

What I have found is that great pitches and persistence can pay off. (If you want some tips on improving your pitching, I recently wrote this post with tips.)

In general, here’s what you should aim for in your pitches:

No spelling or grammar mistakes

Short and easy to read, do not send over your life story

The impression that you’ve actually spent time researching their product, site or service

At least one, but ideally a few, really solid ideas for how you can help them

Samples of your work

Make it really easy for them to say yes

Sometimes the slow drum beat of consistency, keeping lots of irons in the fire, and luck can come into play just at the right time. But, most of all, being a good writer, with a good portfolio, and a great pitch is going to help you promote your writing services.

So never stop trying to improve those.

You can start with the cold email checklist, use this to make sure you don’t make any huge mistakes in any email you send.

For more tips on cold pitching, sign up below:

Final Thoughts

If you’ve been struggling with where to find more writing jobs online, hopefully, this will help.

Keep all of these sites and tactics in mind when you set out to search for gigs. More often than not, having lots of pitches out there over time will start to pay off.

Did we miss any secret gems? Let us know if you’ve got a few go-to sites you use to find writing jobs online in the comments.

I’d say your best place to start is with guest posting. Not only does this allow you to get a feel for writing for an audience, it also gives you GREAT portfolio pieces that hold a lot of weight with clients.

When I first started writing three years ago, I was applying for jobs and was getting ZERO traction. It felt like I was going to be stuck as a broke-ass shoe salesman for forever.

But I decided to try writing on a few sites that I liked reading, just to give myself a bit of a confidence boost for my skills.

I got featured on Addicted2Success, Lifehack and TinyBuddha and included them in my samples when pitching to people. After four weeks, I’d made £1,300+ and two months later I quit my job.

Of course there is more to it than that, but when it comes to STARTING your business, this is a great place to start building momentum. Especially if you’re full-time employed.

Hey Pedro, I don’t have particular experience in writing in another language, but I do think there are plenty of opportunities out there. Spanish (and any language) language sites also need great content, care about ranking on websites, need emails, etc.

How would someone determine if they have what it takes to offer their services as a freelance writer to earn extra cash? I’ve never written for anyone professionally and I’m not sure that I have the ability to write about topics assigned to me. I will say that I’ve received compliments on my writing ability in the past, but the “writing” that I was doing was an email or a business document.. to a group of co-workers.. LOL! I’ve never written a blog post, marketing related writing or anything for that matter aside from some job related tasks.

Just start doing it. You will get feedback soon enough. Stop thinking and start doing. You have paralyzed yourself by saying you’ve never done it and don’t know if you’re good enough. You are good enough because even the most prolific writers didn’t come out of the womb writing. They just started and got better.

I think Matt gives the right answer here. Just give it a shot and see. I also had zero experience when I started freelance writing, I had worked in finance. You can start your own blog, or even try getting in touch with a local charity you like and offer to write a post for them. Not only is that a great way to get started but you can also feel good about contributing to a good cause.

Thanks for this! I currently make some sales through my passionate niche website – teaching meditation & yoga – but it doesnt cover all the bills… yet.

That being said, I have been wanting to travel to beautiful remote locations to fufill my spiritual, nomadic adventure I have always wanted to embark on. I love to write and put my services up on Fiverr.com but nothing really took the bait. So I will utilize the resources here and see where it takes me! Cheers! 😀 Thanks Liz!

Great list!! I’ve heard of several of some of those, but have only tried a few. I started freelancing through Elance, before it joined with Upwork. I did small jobs here and there but eventually landed some long term ones. I’m also in several binder groups on Facebook, and that’s how I find out about a lot of open submissions. I haven’t tried cold pitching yet. I can’t wait to explore some of these that I haven’t tried yet!

Hi Joleene, thanks for that tip! I tried to avoid the content mills since I don’t have any experience with them and don’t want to lead people astray but good to hear you can vouch for having a good experience.

Liz, thanks for including nDash.co on the list. We have a writer help section which this audience may find helpful, especially around pitching brands: https://www.ndash.co/help/writers (pro tip: do some research before pitching.) …And for 2019, hopefully, we’ll close the top spot!

I’d like to offer several suggestions as to how aspiring writers can make an entry into the freelance writing biz.

I originally came from a technical background, but I eventually transitioned to a commercial/industrial sales career. Throughout my career, I’ve acquired a great deal of technical manufacturing process and product knowledge. This was an absolute necessity in order to competently serve the needs of my customers.

Over the years, I found that several of the companies I represented shared a common problem. Their marketing collateral, product service bulletins, websites, etc. were often ‘substandard’ (I’m trying to be kind here). Frequently, there were proofreading and editing issues. But, all too often, there were also issues with the content quality. The primary reason for this is that the people who were responsible for writing the content lacked either the necessary basic writing skills, the technical knowledge necessary to write accurate and relevant copy, or both.

By now, I think you know where I’m heading with this. I ended up assisting these people with ‘cleaning up’ their brochures, catalogs, and websites. It wasn’t an act of kindness as much as it was an act of self- preservation. I was scared to death that some of this stuff (in its original form) would get into the hands of my customers or – worse yet – get posted online for the entire world to see.

You may be asking yourself, how often does this situation actually occur? Well, it’s happening far more often than it should – especially with small to mid-sized businesses who can seldom cost justify full time technical or content writing staff. In my case, I provided writing, editing, and even article ‘ghostwriting’ assistance to four of the companies I’ve represented over the years.

Can you see the potential business writing and editing opportunities here? Do you have specialized education, technical training or other skills and experience that you can offer to prospective clients? As stated above, there’s no shortage of small to mid-sized businesses who could very likely use your industry expertise to assist them with producing ‘clean’ and effective marketing collateral – as well as writing blog posts and/or other content for their websites.

Well, what are you waiting for? As the saying goes: “If not me, then who? If not now, then when?” Cheers!

Just to add another one to the list – TextBroker (https://www.textbroker.com/) is pretty great both for people looking to write and get paid, and people who need content. Now admittedly I’ve never written through them because I’m not much of a writer, but they’re great when I need a nice piece of content.